2 GOING5 THE THEA TI\E (E. and W. mean East and West of Broadway.) PLA YS THE DISENCHANTED-Jason Robards, Jr., is the main reason for seeing this somev.rhat un- convincing account of a great writer's last assignment. The hero, a ravaged ex-alcoholic, has points in cumlnon with Scott Fitzgerald. (Coronet, 49th Si., \V. CI 6-8870. ightly at 8:40. Matinee Saturday at 2:40. Closes Satur- day, May 16.) THE GAZEBo-Alec Coppel's frail comedy about a T\T \\ riter \\ ho gets mixed up in a sus- pected n1urder is valiantly played by Walter Slezak and Jayne :NI eadovv s. The dialogue, however, is a constant drag. (Lyceum, 45th St., E. JU 2-3897 Kightly, except Sundays, at 8:40. Matinees Wednesdays at 2 and Sat- urdays at 2:40.) J. B.-Nobody c-ould have got more dramatic momentum out of the Book of Job than Elia Kazan, \vho directed this fuddled moderniza- tion, by Archibald MacLeish, of the Biblical tragedy Christopher Plummer, Raymond Massey, and J al11es Dalv do what they can with a grim script. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for the best An1erican play of the year just the same. (ANT A Theatre, 52nd St., W. CI 6-6270. )Jightly, except Sundays, at 8:45. Matinées Wednesdays at 2 and Saturdays at 2:45.) A MAJORITY OF ONE-While this gentle comedy by Leonard Spigelgass, which deals with the slow dawning of love between a Japanese millionaire and a J ewish \ lidow, isn't long on credibility, it has, in the persons of Cedric Hardwicke and Gertrude Berg, a most at- tractive pair of unlikely lovers. (Shubert, 44th St., W. CI 6-5990. Nightly, except Sundays, at 8:40. Matinees Wednesdays at 2 and Saturdays at 2:40.) MAKE A MilliON-Sam Levene in a comedy \vritten by N orn1an Barascb and Carroll Moore, and directed by Jerome Chodorov. (Morosco, 45th St., W. CI 6-6230. Nightly, except Sundays, at 8:40. Matinées Wednes- days at 2 and Saturdays at 2:40.) THE MARRIAGE-Go-RouND-Charles Boyer and Claudette Colbert, with staunch support from Julie N e\vmar, illustrate the problems of monogamy. Leslie Stevens' comedy, which has an academic setting, is a glossy, if some- times banal, piece of w-ork. (Plymouth, 45th St., W. CI 6-9156. Nightly, except Sundays, at 8:40. Matinées Wednesdays at 2 and Sat- urdays at 2:40.) ONCE MORE, WITH FEELING-SUme aspects of the world of serious n1usicianship, discussed in a farcical \vay in a play that requires a lot of good will on your part to make a visit worth while. <\rlene Francis and Joseph Cotten head the cast. (National. 4 I st St., W. WI 7-5510. Nightly, except Sundays, at 8:40. Matinees Wednesdays at 2 and Saturdays at 2:40.) THE PLEASURE OF HIS COMPANy-A slick and graceful, though faintly soap-operatic, play about young love, adult selfishness, and other family matters. Cyril Ritchard and Cor- nelia Otis Skinner, who have doubled as di- rector and co-author, respectively, lead the cast, and are strongly supported by Walter Abel, Charlie Ruggles, and Dolores Hart. (Longacre, .+8th St., VV. CI 6-5639. NIghtly, except Sundays, at 8:40. Matinées Wednes- days at 2 and Saturdays at 2:4 0 .) A RAISIN IN THE SUN-One of the finest contribu- tions to the season, which has to do with the ups and downs of a N egr.o family in Chi- cago. Written by Lorraine Hansberry, and directed by Lloyd Richards, the play has a buoyant and talented cast, in which Sidney Poitier, Claudia McX eil, and Ruby Dee figure conspicuously and re\\Tardlngly. (Ethel Barryn10re, 47th St., W. CI 6-0390. ightly, e"\..cept Sundays, at 8:30. Matinées Wednes- days at 2 and Saturdays at 2:30. Special perforn1ance for the Actors' Fund Sunday evening, 11ay 17.) RASHOMoN-Murder in medieval Japan, neatly reconstructed by Fay and 11ichael Kanln, and effectively embellished by Peter Glen- ON ABOUT TOWN developing the \\ hiskery old notion that brothel inmates are just about the nicest people in the \vorld France N uyen, William Shatner, and Ron Randell do their best when they get a chance (Broadhurst, 44th St., W. CI 6-6699 Nightly, except Sundays, at 8:40. Matinées Wednesdays at 2 and Saturdays at 2:40.) LONG RUNS-SUNRISE AT CAMPOBELLO: Ralph Bel- lamy plays the central role in Dore Schary's play covering the three years bet\,\ een Frank- lin Roosevelt's crippling illness and his spee h nominating Al Smith for the Presidency. (Cort, 48th St., E CI 5-4289. ightly, e:= cept Sundays, at 8:40 11atinées \Vednesdays at 2 and Saturdays at 2:40. Closes Saturday, May 30.)... TWO FOR THE SEESAW: The com- plete cast of this drama by \Villiam Gibson consists of Dana Andrews and \nne Ban- croft, as .a dreamy out-of-to\\ner and a young lady from the Bronx. (Booth, 45th St., W. CI 6-596y. Nightly, except Sundays, at 8:40. Matinees Wednesdays at 2 and Sat- urdays at 2:40.) MUSICALS DESTRY RIDES AGAIN-Everybody is furiously ac- tive in this spoof of movie \\1 esterns in which a deputy sheriff with a distaste for firearms finally drills a little respect into some cowtown badmen, but all the exertion doesn't overcome the handicaps of the book. Harold Rome did the music, and Michael Kidd the choreography. Prominently displayed are Dolores Gray and Andy Griffith. (Imperial, 45th St., W. CO 5-2412. Nightly, except Sundays, at 8:30 Matinées vVednesdays at 2 and Saturdays at 2:30.) FIRST IMPRESSloNs-Abe Burrows wr.ote the book for this mild musical version of "Pride and Prejudice," which he also directed. Farley Granger and Ellen Hanley (who has replaced Polly Bergen) are the class-crossed lovers; Hermione Gingold, rampant, gets Ino t of the laughs. Robert Goldman, Glenn Pax- ton, and George Weiss share credit for the unassun1Ìng music and lyrics. (Alvin, 52nd St., W. CI 5-5226. Nightly, except Sundays. at 8: 30. Matinees vVednesdays at 2 and Saturdays at 2:30.) FLOWER DRUM SONG-The new n1usical by Rodg- ers and Hammerc;;tein concerns a romantic contretemps in San Francisco's Chinatown, and sho\ ls the great men at less than their best Pat Suzuki, Miyoshi Umeki, and Larry Blyden perform brisk salvage work. (St. James, .+4th St., W. L <\ 4-4664. Nightly, ex- cept Sundays, at 8: 30. Matinées Wednesdays at 2 and Saturdays at 2:30.) LA PLUME DE MA T ANTE- This IS an' anthology cf the madcap revue nUlTIbers with which Robert Dhery, author, director. and star, has been delighting Europe for the past ten years. His attendant zanies, who all speak English \\ hen they speak at all, include Colette Bros- set, Pierre Olaf, Roger Caccia, and Jacques Legras. (Royale, 45th St., W. CI 5-5760. Xightly, except Sundays, at 8:30. Matinées Wednesdays at 2 and Saturdays at 2: 30.) REDHEAD-Gwen Verdon gives a rousing per- formance in this otherwise rickety musical tale of Edwardian London The lyrics are by Dorothy Fields, and the music by Albert Hague. Richard Kiley gives NIiss Verdon her chief support. (46th Street Theatre, 46th St., W. CI 6-4271. :i\ïghtly, except Sundays, at 8:30. Matinées Wednesdays at 2 dnd Saturdays at 2:30.) LONG RUNS-THE MUSIC MAN: Meredith Will- son's excursion into rural Iowa as It \vas forty-five years ago With Robert Preston. (Majestic, 44th St., W. CI 6-0730. Night- ly, except Sundays, at 8:30. Matinees Wednesdays at 2 and Saturdays at 2:30.) . . . MY FAIR LADY: A musical adaptation of Sha\v's "Pygmalion," in \vhich Ed" ard M ulhare now has the part of Professor Higgins, and Pamela Charles that of Eliza Doolittle. (Mark Hellinger, 51St St., W. PL 7-7 06 4. Nightly, except Sundays, at 8.3ô. Matinees Wednesdays at 2 and Saturdays at 2: 30.). . . WEST SIDE STORY: "Romeo dnd Juliet," restated in terms of a teen-age gang war. The cast includes Carol La\\ rence, Larry A CONSCIENTIOlJS CALENDAR. OF EVENTS OF INTER.EST S-M-T-W-T-F-S , 14 15 16 17 18 19 2.0 2.1 2.2. 2.J ville's direction, Oliver Messel's setting, and a cast led by Rod Steiger, Claire Bloom, Akim Tamiroff, and Oscar Homolka. (Music Box, 45th St., W. CI 6-4636. Nightly, except Sundays, at 8.40. Matinees Thursdays at 2 and Saturdays at 2:40.) SWEET BIRD OF Y OUTH-A dislocated nightmare, by Tennessee Williams, concerned with sex, guilt, and lost innocence. An aging vamp, a blond gigolo, and a vengeful father provide most of the action, \\ hich ends with physical mutilation. Witb Geraldine Page (brilliant), Paul N e\ lman, and Sidney Blackmer. Elia Kazan directed the whirlwind. (Martin Beck, 45th St., W. CI 6-6363. Nightly, except Sun- days, at 8: 30. Matinées Wednesdays at 2 and Saturdays at 2:30.) A TOUCH OF THE POET-A fine cast, headed by Helen Hayes and Eric Portman, in a satis- fying period play by Eugene O'Neill that is having its first American production. (Helen Hayes, 46th St., W. CI 6-63 80 . Nightly, except Sundays, at 8:30. Matinées Wednesdays at 2 and Saturdays at 2:30.) TRIPLE PLAy-A program of short subjects, com- prising two farcical one-acters by Sean O'Casey, a study of spinsterhood by Ten- nessee Williams, and Chekhov's famous ad- dress on the harmful effe s of tobacco. Jessica Tandy and H ume Cronyn are the principal players, and the evening as a whole is casually worth seeing. (Play house, 48th St., E. CI 5-6060. Nightly at 8:40. Matinee Saturday at 2:40. Closes Saturday, May r6.) THE WORLD OF SUZIE WONG-One .of those plays r" IT TH E ART GALLERI ES BOOKS THE CURRENT CINEMA LETTER FROM WASHINGTON MUSICAL EVENTS ON AND OFF THE AVENUE: ABOUT THE HOUSE THE RACE TRACK A REPORTER AT LARGE THE THEATRE Page 165 182 104 90 178 THE NEW YORKER published weekly by The New Yorker l\'Iagazine, Inc., 25 \V 43rd St., New York 36, N. Y. R. . Fleischmann, chairman of the board; S. B. Botsford, pr sident; E R Spaulding é\nd R. H. Truax, vice-presjdents; P. F. Fleischmann, treasurer; M. L r nes , secretary, A. J. Russell'TJr, adver- tising director. Vol. XXXV, No. 13, May 16, 1959. Second-class postage paid at Kew York, N. Y. and at GreenwIch! Conn. @, 1959, by The 1\ew Yorker Mag lzine, Inc., in the lTnited States and Canada. All rights reser ed. 1'\0 part uf this periodIcal !llay be reproduced Ithout the consent ?f The :::'\ew Yorker. Printed in U. S. A. Subscription rates: U. S. and posse,:,SlOns, 1 year $7.00; Canada, LatIn Amenca, and Spam, $8.00. 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